Philip Bialowitz

Philip Bialowitz with his son Joe Bialowitz

Philip Bialowitz is one of eight living survivors of the infamous Nazi death camp, Sobibór, where an estimated 250,000 people perished between 1942 and 1943. There, as a 16-year old boy, Mr. Bialowitz and a small group of Jewish prisoners overpowered their captors and freed about half of the camp’s 600 slave laborers. The uprising at Sobibór was the largest and most successful prisoner revolt of World War II. Mr. Bialowitz will be in Poland in October of 2008 for the publication of the Polish edition of his new memoir, Revolt at Sobibór: A Teenager’s Story of Survival in Nazi-Occupied Poland, which has received advanced praise from Professors Władysław Bartoszewski, Szevach Weiss and Jan T. Gross. Geared especially toward younger readers, Mr. Bialowitz’s book is narrated in the “real-time” voice of a teenage boy. It extensively describes life in Sobibór and the heroic mass prisoner uprising that occurred there. It also relates the never before told story of an attempt to poison the entire staff of Sobibór — a plot which was conceived and led by Philip’s brother, Symcha, but which was foiled at the very last moment. Mr. Bialowitz’s book further presents a moving account of how several heroic Polish Catholics saved his life by hiding and caring for him after his escape from Sobibór.

As one of the few Polish survivors of the Holocaust who maintains close ties with the country of his birth, Mr. Bialowitz has returned to Poland more than a dozen times since 1987 to deliver lectures aimed at educating both Jewish and non-Jewish Poles about resistance during the Holocaust and the continued importance of mutual respect among people of different beliefs. While in Poland, Mr. Bialowitz will share his story of hope, perseverance and resistance with audiences of adults and children, and will implore them to join him in the struggle against hatred, violence and injustice.

Mr. Bialowitz currently resides in New York City, where he settled after the Holocaust and worked as a jeweler prior to retiring. Further information about Mr. Bialowitz can be found on his web site: www.sobiborholocaustsurvivor.org.

Joe Bialowitz is Philip Bialowitz’s son and one of the youngest members of the “second generation” of Holocaust survivors. He lectures frequently about ways to more effectively remember and teach about the Holocaust. While in Poland, he will discuss:

• How to draw closer to the both the vibrant lives and tragic deaths of Holocaust victims
• How religious beliefs can support acts of both armed and unarmed resistance to genocide
• Possible explanations for the actions of victims, perpetrators and bystanders during the Holocaust
• How to recognize the preconditions of genocide and act upon that recognition

Joe Bialowitz holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, and master’s degrees from Columbia University and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He currently resides in San Francisco, where he works on minimizing the ecological footprint of American hospitals.